So, some of you know, it is going to be a different year. I’m in Hawaii for work for the duration of the tournament. It’s a bit to get used to this week with the early start times and missing a lot of games, but I’ll do my best to keep up. I apologize for not getting this out on the normal timeline. Let’s get started with the opening weekend.

Tournament Round 1 & 2 Recap

East Region

Round 1 – Some Surprises, but Big Boys Roll in the 2nd

1 UConn Rolls – The whole tournament question is “Can anyone beat UConn?” – Well, Stetson was no match, as the Champs put up 91 points and held 16 Stetson to just 30.9% shooting with all 5 starters in double figures in the 91-52 win.
11 Duquesne 55 Years in the Making – The Dukes of Duquesne had not made a Big Dance since 1977, and their run in the A10 Tournament was an epic one. Still, 6 BYU had a good first season in the Big 12, but they were no match for the Dukes on Thursday who led the whole game. BYU did tie the game with 1:48 remaining, and it looked like they had momentum, but Jimmy Clark took over scoring 5 straight points to get the margin to carry forward for the win, 71-67. This win is the first NCAA Tournament win in 55 years for Duquesne (1969). Maybe they can keep it rolling.
13 Yale Does Ivy Proud – No matter which team is in the Big Dance each year, the Ivy League gets wins. Last year Princeton made a run to the Sweet 16, but this year with the SEC Tournament Champ in 4 Auburn playing hot – it would be a tall task.

Round 2

3 Illinois Dominating – The Fighting Illini have defied the experts in terms of facing 2 upset bids. After a big win in Round 1, would the Dukes of Duquesne pose a threat? Not even a little, G Terrance Shannon Jr. continued to stay hot with 30 points on just 14 shots. Illinois disposed of Duquesne, 89-63 and advanced to the Sweet 16.

West Region – Comebacks and More

Round 1

9 March Sparty – It’s not rocket science. Coach Izzo is just different in March. State controlled the game from start to finish in this one against 8 Mississippi State. Veteran G Tyson Walker was excellent with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting in the 69-51 win.
7 Dayton Comeback – Down 17 points to 10 Nevada with 7 minutes to play, no problem. The Flyers held Nevada to just 4 points in the final 7 to win the game, 63-60. F DaRon Holmes was the leader with 18 points, 9 rebounds in the win.
12 Grand Canyon Gets Huge Win– The Antelopes flew under the radar out of the WAC all year, but with 30+ wins prior to the Big Dance, they were legit. 5 St. Mary’s finally beat the Zags in the WCC, but they did not have an answer for GCU, as the Lopes led the entire 2nd half led by G Tyson Grant-Foster’s 22 points and 7 rebounds, 75-66.

Round 2

1 UNC Stops 9 Sparty – March may be time for Tom Izzo, but the Heels knew what to do after a slow start. UNC finally matched the Spartans physicality and took the game over. The game was not close after the first 10 minutes, as UNC had great balance with 4 players in double figures. Harrison Ingram’s 5 of 7 shooting from deep was a big advantage, as the Heels hit the Sweet 16 again, 85-69.
6 Clemson Keeps Thriving – Clemson started off the season on fire, but hit a major lull in the ACC season, but they earned berth into the Big Dance.

South Region – Region of Upsets

Round 1

10 Colorado Buffs Roam On – The Buffs had to earn their way into the main field on Wednesday in Dayton over 10 Boise State, but they continued playing well against 7 Florida. Not a lot of defense in this one as the teams combined for 202 points. Still, Colorado was able to outlast the Gators in the final minutes as G KJ Simpson hit the game winner with 3 seconds remaining for the 102-100 win.
11 NC State Continues to Roll – If you didn’t have a chance to watch DJ Burns in the past few weeks, then you are missing a cult legend. Burns is 6’9″ and 275 lbs of joy on the court for the Wolfpack. He moves so well on the block, and NC State just fed him for his 16 points. 6 Texas Tech just did not have an answer for him or when they went to F Ben Middlebrooks on the bench (21 points, 4 boards) in their 80-67 win.
12 James Madison Dukes Are For Real – James Madison is another team that had a great season prior to the Big Dance with 30+ wins, and 5 Wisconsin was not ready. The Dukes just rolled leading 33-20 at the half, and never really were in jeopardy, as they went on to win , 72-61, which was the Dukes first main field NCAA win since 1983.
14 Oakland Makes It Rain – 3 Kentucky had not gotten deep in the tournament in years, but this group for Coach Cal was supposed to be incredible. Well, somebody forgot to tell Oakland that, as they just shot the lights out on the Wildcats with 15-31 triples, led by G Jack Gohlke’s 10 from deep who finished with 32 points. Oakland won, 80-76, and now Kentucky hasn’t gotten past the opening round in over 5 years.

Round 2

Game of the Tournament – Part 1 – 14 Oakland was attempting to be the first team since Oral Roberts to have a 14 Seed get to the Sweet Sixteen and the first time in the school’s history, and they were ready. Despite, Jake Gohlke (22 points, 6 of 17 shooting) being mostly bottled up early, another Golden Grizzly stepped up, F Trey Townsend balled out with 30 points, 13 rebounds. 11 NC State may have hit their limit playing their 7th game in 12 days. The final minutes in regulation was nip and tuck. Still, Gohkle tied the game with 40 seconds to go, and the final NC State possession came up short for OT. The tension continued until finally the Wolfpack got a DJ Burns (24 points, 11 rebounds) bucket, a stop and a DJ Horne (11 points) bucket to get a 3 point advantage. After an Oakland FT with 1:37 left in OT, Jayden Taylor (8 points) hit the backbreaking 3 to get the lead to 5 and State made their FTs to ice the game, 79-73 OT. NC State goes to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015.
2 Marquette Outlasts the Buffs – The Golden Eagles are now healthy with super guard, Tyler Kolek (21 points, 11 assists), and it looked easy in the first half up by 11. However, this 10 Colorado team was gritty. F Tristan da Silva scored 15 of his 17 points in the 2nd half, and the Buffs tied the game at 74 with 4:03 to play on a da Silva trey. However, Colorado missed a couple of open threes late that would have given them the lead, and G Chase Ross (12 points) and Kolek took advantage to get Coach Shaka Smart back to the Sweet 16 since his days at VCU, 81-77.
1 Houston Squeaks By – The Cougars were on cruise control up by 14 with 2 minutes to play, but 9 Texas A&M made a feverish comeback to force OT. In fact, Houston had 4 players foul out in the game, but were able to muster up enough scoring to win 100-95 in OT and advance to another Sweet 16.

Midwest Region – Most Boring Bracket

Round 1

1 Purdue Redeems Themselves – The Boilers were the talk of Round 1 in 2023, but this time, they took care of business as 16 Grambling State had no shot in the 78-50 Purdue win. Edey’s 30 points and 21 rebounds were a performance worthy of the Player of the Year.
4 Kansas Survives – The undermanned Jayhawks were a trendy pick to lose to 13 Samford (like the Commish). Early, Kansas was in command, but Samford went on a run to cut the 22 point lead to just 1 with 20 seconds to play on the Jaden Campbell 3 (18 points). Give the Jayhawks credit, as they held them off, but it did take a terrible foul call on a block at the rim by Samford that was a critical play with 14 seconds. G Nicolas Timberlake (19 points) made the 2 free throws, and Kansas moved on, 93-89.
11 Ducks Keep Quacking – Oregon was not healthy all year until the PAC 12 tournament, and they ran the table. Well, 6 South Carolina had a good year, but they were no match for Oregon who shot 59.6% from deep (7-16). Ducks advanced, 87-73.

Wegs Pool: Standings After Round 2 – Utter Madness

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